Fort Morgan Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic

Remembering Destiny McMinn

4-H Fashion Revue included tribute to longtime participant murdered in April

By Jenni Grubbs

Times Staff Writer

Posted:
08/01/2017 05:53:00 PM MDT

The clothes displayed here Monday night at First Christian Church were created or decorated by Destiny McMinn over nine years of Morgan County 4-H Fashion Revues. McMinn, who was murdered in April, was honored by her 4-H family at Monday night's Fashion Revue. (Jenni Grubbs/Fort Morgan Times)

Destiny McMinn loved fashion and clothes, and the Morgan County 4-H Fashion Revue was one of the places where she shone.

She should have been among those taking the stage Monday night for what would have been her final revue with 4-H, but that was not to be. Destiny was murdered last April in Morgan County.

But she was there at the revue at least in spirit or people's thoughts, especially those of her mother, Shari McMinn, and sisters Taryn and Madison, the latter of who was competing in the event.

Extension Agent Jennifer Cooney started off the public show with a tribute to Destiny, followed by a moment of silence.

Cooney pointed out how a member of the 4-H family was missing that night, but she and her creativity were remembered fondly by so many.

Shari McMinn wraps her arm around daughter Taryn as they listen to a tribute to murdered daughter and sister Destiny McMinn at Monday night's Morgan County 4-H Fashion Revue at First Christian Church in Fort Morgan. Fashion Revue was important to Destiny, and Shari set up a display of the clothes her late daughter had entered in the annual event over nine years. (Jenni Grubbs / Fort Morgan Times)

Many members of the audience, who had known Destiny as part of the 4-H family, could be seen dabbing their eyes or with sorrowful looks on their faces.

And a display of many of Destiny's colorful creations from the previous nine years' fashion revue events was featured in the lobby at First Christian Church.

"It's hard, but it's good, too," Shari McMinn of being at the fashion revue without Destiny. She could be seen sitting next to daughter Taryn, her arm draped across her daughter's back, during Cooney's tribute. "This was always such a great event for her. She rose to the occasion and did so well here."

Madison McMinn was not in the room for the tribute, waiting for her time to take to the stage for the revue.

Advertisement

One of the two outfits she created and modeled in the revue included a large, white hat, which Madison said was part of her tribute to her late sister, who always liked to wear hats with the outfits she had put together.

Like Destiny, both Madison and Taryn were adopted by Shari and the late Cary McMinn, with the couple raising them as part of their large blended family on their Fort Morgan area farm. She and Cary got their children, both natural and adopted, involved in 4-H as a way to grow as people and learn life skills.

Shari said 4-H also provided its own form of family for Destiny.

"Destiny had significant issues in behavior and social skills as a young child because she was neglected and abused," Shari said of the girl she raised from age 5 to early womanhood. "Being around supportive adults and families in 4-H helped her develop confidence and leadership skills."

Destiny quickly took to 4-H and all it provided, Shari said, with the fashion competitions being a fast favorite of hers.

"All my daughters and a couple of my sons have done fashion revue and loved it," Shari said. "Destiny especially loved it, with all the camaraderie."

The mother got visibly saddened at thinking about her late daughter, who left home upon becoming an adult not long after last year's fair and then met with tragedy less than a year later.

"She had a short life, but she had a great life," Shari said, "and 4-H was one of the great outlets for her."

Destiny had "bad days" when she was "just overcome by her past," Shari recalled, but "On her good days, she was the best person in the room."

Fashion revue was a time for many of the good days, though, with Destiny able to rise above her past when she was modeling the outfits she had constructed or decorated.

"It was the good kind of competition that you want your kids to enjoy," Shari said, and through fashion revue and 4-H Destiny had "made some really good friends," many of whom were there Monday night either still competing or having grown out of 4-H but coming back to support others.

They were among those looking over the display of Destiny's fashion revue projects, some of which won ribbons.

"When I look at all of Destiny's projects on display, I think about how she and I worked on each one," Shari said.

It was something that brought the mother and her adopted daughter together and drew them closer.

"That's one thing that's so nice about 4-H projects and the clothing projects," Shari said. "It's nice to have an adult mentor to walk you through projects. Sewing is not something you can really learn on your own. It's a wonderful relationship builder."

And Destiny also learned about caring for animals and more through her various 4-H projects, with the large McMinn family being a big part of that, as well as other adults and 4-H members.

"We have such a fast-paced culture these days that adults don't really take the time to be with kids and teach them a life-long, useful skill," Shari said. "In 4-H, you do that."

The mother recalled how enjoyable it was to see Destiny working with other young children, as 4-H members and leaders had done for her.

'She loved mentoring young children," Shari said.

Destiny would give demonstrations to the youngest 4-H members, the Cloverbuds, "sharing her knowledge with other people, especially youth," Shari recalled. "I think the opportunities for older kids in 4-H really helped her in a safe, beneficial way."

And the mother witnessed her daughter seeking out and making friends with others who she saw struggling or alone.

"She often befriended people who were shy or lacked confidence," Shari said, with Destiny getting those kids involved in games or dancing. "That was a neat skill she had."

And while recalling these things may bring some comfort to Shari and her surviving children, there is a part of her that couldn't help but think of what Destiny will not get to have.

"It's hard to think that she won't be heading off to college, using all she learned and knew to further herself and others," Shari said. "But she had done her job, so God called her home."

And Shari is grateful for the time she had with Destiny and the life she and Cary were able to give their daughter for the time that they each had with her.

"Destiny could have grown up on the streets in Denver, but she got to grow up in Morgan County," Shari said. "That was such a blessing to have her here for 14 years. I have peace about it. It's just really sad."

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.